Roronoa Zoro's Adventures and OneShots!
by Sarin-sama
Summary: Can't get enough of Zoro? Well me neither! Here are a some One-Shots i wrote featuring our favorite swordsman, Zoro! Adventure, Humor, and Romance.
1. Zoro the Avenger

**Disclaimer**: I do not own One Piece or Zoro (Oh but I wish i did). These are just scenes I liked or came up with and decided to write.  
><strong>Note<strong>: I am a Zoro-Lover. If any fictional character could come to life, I would choose him. In these on-shots I will probably pair him up with different girls every once in a while because Zoro is cool enough to get both girls lol (and I can never decide who I like best with him).

**Hope you like! **

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><p><strong>Zoro the Avenger:<strong>

Pain washed over her body like a tidal wave that just kept thrashing her. Robin let out a strangled scream as Enel's lightning used her body like a metal rod.

Robin was falling, losing consciousness. She couldn't even tighten her body to prepare for the impact of the hard stone floor. She squinted her eyes shut and waited for the rough tone to tear at her skin, but just inches from the ground, she felt a strong and warm arm catch her by the shoulders.

"Robin," his voice whispered with tenderness and anger all rolled up into one. Her blue eyes flickered open and struggled to focus on his face. The face of the man who still didn't trust her.

Zoro.

He had been the only one to still keep her at arm's length, not fully trusting her. She deserved it, she knew – she had been a bad guy just a few weeks ago. But despite his mistrust of her, he had still come to her rescue.

She wanted to say something – anything – but her voice wouldn't cooperate. She was losing consciousness.

Zoro's muscular arm laid her gently down on the floor – gentler than she thought he could be. Their eyes met for a split second before Robin's eyes forced themselves shut. She saw a burning anger in his tense gray eyes, and hoped he wouldn't do anything to drastic.

But the rage had already taken over him. Though he never liked to attack out of revenge, seeing the woman who had been with their crew for the last few weeks electrocuted so carelessly made his blood boil. Zoro let out an enraged scream and darted after Enel the so-called "God" of Skypia with his swords ready to attack.

The sound of his footsteps pounding the rough stone floor was the last thing Robin heard before unconsciousness took a hold of her.

PBr

She let out a frantic gasp as she bolted upright from her bed. Pain shot through her stomach and arms as she moved. Robin looked down at herself and saw bandages wrapped around her bare stomach and her shoulders. She ignored the pain that tingled throughout her entire body, a left over electric current from Enel's attack.

She searched the rest of the ship and found only one other bed occupied.

Zoro.

He was covered in even more bandages than she, but even though it looked as if his wounds were worse than hers, he still had the strength to sit up.

Zoro's gray eyes searched the room, but found only Robin to look to, "Where is everyone else?"

She shook her head, ignoring the sharp stabs in her neck, "I don't know…But the fight must be over, if they had time to bring us back to the ship."

Zoro narrowed his eyes as he thought over the suggestion and nodded his head in agreement. "Must be," He groaned as he leaned against the headboard of the bed.

His movements were slow – he looked like he had taken a pretty good beating.

"Can I ask you something, Mr. Swordsman?" she said suddenly. She was confused, and needed an answer.

Zoro locked his eyes onto hers and gave her a slight nod.

"Why…why did you fight for me? I know you don't trust me…so why?" She asked. Normally she was calm and collected, but she couldn't help but keep the confusion and slight wonder from her voice.

His eyes widened momentarily, taking note of the change in her voice, but answered immediately, "You're right. I don't trust you – but Luffy does, and he's my Captain. If he says you're our nakama, then I'll fight to protect you." Zoro caught her eyes widening and continued quickly, "Don't read too much into it."

Robin's heart ached. This was something she'd never had. The idea of someone protecting her was completely foreign and unusual for her – but here, this man who hadn't even trusted her had risked his life to keep her alive.

Her emotionless façade was breaking down. She swallowed a lump in her throat, and forbid her eyes to tear up. She took a deep breath to keep her voice from wavering, and met the honorable swordsman's eyes.

"Thank-you," She said quietly. Robin placed her hand gently on his shin, which was covered by a thin blanket, and stood up. She hurried out of the room, feeling his eyes on her until she was out of sight.

Her heart ached again, and a few tears leaked from her eyes, but she was smiling.

Nakama.

The faces of the crew flashed before her eyes, and her tears multiplied. For the first time since Ohara, she could say she had friends.


	2. Zoro and Truth or Dare

**Disclaimer: **Unfortunantly, I do not own Zoro or One Piece...I just love them a whole freaking lot  
><strong>Note:<strong> I know this theme has been done before and probably to death, but I really liked the idea haha

**~ Enjoy ~**

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><p><strong>Zoro and Truth or Dare:<strong>

The group of five – Robin, Nami, Luffy, Zoro, and Usopp – had started off playing a simple game of cards.

Nami laughed and threw down her cards – all Aces.

Again.

Zoro scowled and Usopp moaned as Nami pulled the small pile of Berries towards her, "Looks like I won again!"

"Naaamiiii," Luffy said with a sad look at the rest of his money being pulled away by her greedy hands, "Let's play something else, now."

Nami smirked, "We have to – no one has any money left."

Zoro sent her another scowl, but she ignored it indignantly.

"So what do we play now?" Robin asked, "There's not much else to do while the wind's this calm."

Usopp vacantly scratched his head, "How about truth or dare?"

Multiple groans echoed around the table.

"Oooh! What's that?" Luffy asked, his excitement coming back.

"Come on guys, it could be fun!" Nami urged.

Usopp looked to Luffy, "You've never played before?"

"Uh-uh – what do you do?" Luffy asked, sitting on the edge of his seat.

"Well, a person is asked _Truth or Dare_. If they say _Truth_, they have to answer a truth honestly, and if they choose _Dare_, they have to do whatever challenge the asker comes up with," Robin explained.

"Ahaha, that sounds fun! Pick me first!" Luffy shouted.

"Alright, Luffy: Truth or Dare?" Nami asked fiendishly.

"Dare!"

Nami thought for a moment before letting out a snarky laugh, "Okay, I dare you to serenade Sanji!"

Luffy giggled and ran out of the room. The four crowded around the door to watch the hilarious spectacle of Luffy on one knee in front of Sanji, singing a random drinking song in a loud and off tune voice.

"What the hell are you doing?" Sanji asked with a scathing look towards Luffy and his off-key singing.

"_-So take another drink and-"_

Sanji tried to walk away from Luffy, but Luffy kept following him around the deck while singing at the top of his lungs.

"_-whether Omea or Ossan or-"_

"BAHHH! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Luffy chased Sanji around the mast in circles, much to the amusement to the group of four, and Chopper who had come out of the sleeping quarters below deck to see what was going on.

Finally Nami decided to put a stop to Sanji's torture and called to Luffy, "Alright, Luffy, your dare's done! You can stop now!"

Luffy collapsed on the deck laughing, "Haha – that was fun! Lets do more!"

"What was that about?" Sanji yelled at Luffy as he rolled around on the deck.

"Sorry Sanji-kun – we're playing Truth or Dare." Nami said sweetly.

Sanji immediately forgot his irritation at Luffy and zipped to Nami's side, "Nami-swan playing truth or dare?" Hearts formed in his eyes as he pictured himself being dared to kiss her, "I want to join!"

Zoro rolled his eyes at the love-cook and retreated back to the table.

Chopper looked around at everyone else, "Can I play too?"

"Sure, Chopper – find a seat at the table."

So now with all seven of the Straw Hats sitting around the table, it was Luffy's turn to be the asker.

"ZORO! Truth or Dare?" He shouted.

Zoro smirked, "Alright, give me a dare."

Luffy scratched his head and searched the dregs of his brain for a dare. Almost a minute later his eyes lit up and he shouted, "Got one! Okay, I dare you to drink a mug of sake!"

"No, Luffy," Nami said with a strain in her voice, "It's supposed to be something embarrassing or funny."

"Hmm – okay. I dare Zoro to drink TWO mugs of sake!"

Zoro laughed, "Fine by me." He drank the two mugs of sake before someone had the chance to make up another dare for him. "My turn." Zoro's gray eyes scanned the crew and smirked devilishly at Usopp, "Usopp. Truth or Dare?"

Usopp swallowed hard, unnerved by that demonic look in Zoro's eye. "D-Dare," he said, hoping no one caught the waver in his voice.

Zoro locked eyes with Usopp, and thought in silence for a good dare. The tension was enough to make Usopp go crazy.

"Alright, I dare you to…wear some of Nami's clothes."

The crew dissolved into laughter – except for Usopp and Nami.

"_MY _clothes?" Nami whined.

And at the same time Usopp stammered, "What? No! That's too embarrassing!"

Zoro answered both their responses, "Yes, your clothes, Nami; and if you refuse that one, Usopp, I get to come up with another dare…and it could be even worse than this one."

Usopp gulped and nodded, "Okay." He scooted out of the table.

Nami groaned and followed him to her room with the threat, "If you tear anything, you'll have to pay for it with 300% interest!"

After a few minutes and a lot of thuds and crashes, Usopp finally came back into the kitchen with a purple tube-top pulled over his chest, and a skirt that was too small around his waist to zip up properly on over his jeans.

Nami smirked at her handiwork, "Isn't Usopp-ette gorgeous?"

His cheeks reddened and he crossed his hands over his chest, "I feel so naked. How can you stand these things, Nami?"

She sat back down at her spot shoved between Zoro and Chopper, "Confidence."

Usopp rolled his eyes and glared at Zoro, "I'll get you back for this."

Zoro smirked at the challenge, "Go ahead."

"Wait – you can't do the same person twice like that. Pick someone who hasn't been called on," Sanji said, thoughts of being dared to kiss Nami or Robin floating through his mind.

"Okay, then Sanji – Truth or Dare?" Usopp said, shelving his revenge against Zoro for the time being.

"Dare!" Sanji said enthusiastically.

Usopp smirked as a great idea came to him

Sanji's vision of his lips meeting Nami's shattered with Usopp's words, "I dare you to say 'Zoro is sexy'."

Once again laughter erupted across the table, and Zoro smirked.

Sanji gave Usopp a death glare.

"Well," Zoro taunted, "Go on. Tell me how sexy I am." He kept his gaze aimed directly at Sanji, to make him feel as awkward as possible.

Sanji's face grew red as he opened his mouth to say it.

"Z…Z…Z" he struggled. After a minute of nothing but the first basic sound of Zoro's name Sanji finally let his head hit the table, "I can't say it. It's not manly."

Zoro laughed in triumph, "Since Sanji gave up, he doesn't get to be the Asker," he turned to Usopp's left, which was Robin, "Next person down the line's turn."

Robin smiled and turned to Chopper, "Chopper. Truth or Dare?"

Chopper looked around frantically as he made his decision, "Uh, Truth." He hoped it would be safer than a Dare.

Robin thought for a moment, "Hmm, What's been your favorite island so far?"

"Aww, that's an easy question!" Usopp complained.

Robin shrugged, "I've never been good at this game. So what's your answer Chopper?"

Glad that his question was easy, Chopper asked, "Skypia…even though those priests and the Enel guy was scary."

Robin nodded, "Your turn to be the Asker."

The game went on with lots of laughter as Nami was dared to eat one of Usopp's Tabasco-Star's; Robin was asked the question "If she ever thought Crocodile what hot" to which she answered, "He had a certain attractiveness to him"; and Usopp was dared to complete his drag-queen outfit with some of Nami's lipstick and eye shadow.

Usopp was again the Asker, and hadn't forgotten his grudge against Zoro for starting his cross-dresser getup. "Zoro: Truth or Dare?"

"Dare," Zoro said nonchalantly.

Usopp thought for a moment and couldn't think up anything embarrassing enough – Zoro would somehow be able to pull it off without feeling Usopp's revenge. Finally he got an idea that would at least be entertaining. "I dare you to kiss Nami for a full minute."

Both Nami and Sanji erupted with anger, "WHAT!"

"Why am I being punished?" Nami asked after sending scathing look towards Zoro.

"Nami-swan shouldn't have to put up with such sexual harassment!" Sanji defended.

Usopp looked at Sanji flatly, "You're just jealous."

Zoro looked down to Nami and shrugged, "Fine. I can't back down from a dare, can I, Sanji?" he said, jabbing at Sanji's earlier failure.

Sanji scowled but turned his back to the table, "I can't watch – just tell me when it's over."

Nami was still trying to protest, though she knew that Zoro wouldn't back down from a dare. Nami wasn't exactly thrilled about the idea, but at least admitted to herself that she was kind of curious. Zoro never really expressed too much lust, but he could occasionally be caught looking. And she always thought he'd be a good kisser – with so few people on the ship, it was hard to deny that she'd noticed how soft his lips looked, despite their constant scowl.

"Fine," She said, defeated.

Zoro looked to Usopp, "Count out loud so I know you aren't cheating."

Usopp nodded, "I'll start as soon as you do."

Nami expected Zoro to ask for some sort of permission or at least give her a warning, but he immediately reached his hand beneath her jaw and pulled her face to his. Their lips met, and Usopp started counting.

She was slightly taken aback at first. He was gentle, going slow and tasting her lips with his, getting to know the layout it seemed. She felt herself kissing back, taken in by the sudden passion. Somewhere, far away, Usopp's voice was counting, but Nami couldn't hear him.

Her heart was pounding too loud in her chest.

His lips grew more forceful but not so much as to make it unpleasant. It was just enough force to show that he was in control, and fully aware of what he was doing.

Her mouth opened more, granting nonverbal permission for a little tongue, which he did flawlessly. His tongue tasted the inside of her cheek and playfully poked at her own tongue, which was staying shyly in its own territory.

"Alright, sixty," Usopp said.

Zoro pulled away and wiped his lips with the back of his hand, making sure there wasn't any of her faint-pink lipstick that transferred to his lips.

Nami's face felt hot, and she hoped she wasn't blushing like an idiot.

Luffy cat-called and Usopp cheered, "Oww Oww. You guys looked as if you enjoyed that a little too much."

Sanji groaned at this, his back still turned to the table.

Zoro shrugged objectively, "Can't back down from a dare."

Nami tried to pull off the "It was no big deal" shrug, but knew she would remember that kiss for a while to come. It might not have actually meant anything, but Nami could still feel the passionate fire of his lips on hers.

For being so much of a tough-guy, Zoro was an amazing kisser.


	3. Zoro and his Scars

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, or Zoro for that matter. I just love that directionally challenged swordsman xD**

**This is just a short scene i thought up last night. Enjoy **

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><p><strong>Zoro and His Scars:<strong>

Zoro was on the prow deck of the Merry, swinging a one-ton dumbbell back and forth, as if it were one of his swords. It was a warm day, and the swordsman had taken off his shirt to keep it from getting sweaty. Scars that were usually hidden were clearly visible, marking up his chest and arms – though despite his many scars, his back was completely clear.

Chopper watched in awe at how strong Zoro was. He lifted unbelievable weights and tossed them around as if they were bags of feathers. Chopper wondered how he had gotten to be so strong, and hoped that someday he'd be able to be even a fraction as strong as Zoro.

Zoro knew Chopper was their but ignored his presence. If the little reindeer had something important to say he would have said it by now. He continued his training in silence.

Minutes later, Chopper's curiosity finally got the better of him, "Hey, Zoro?"

"Hmm?" was all Zoro replied as he set down his dumbbell on the deck.

"How many scars do you have?" Chopper asked. His small hoofed feet clicked lightly on the deck as he neared Zoro.

"Thirteen," Zoro answered. He pulled a towel from the railing of the Merry and wiped his face and hair down with it. "Why?"

Chopper shrugged, "I was just curious. How'd you get them all?"

Zoro sat down cross-legged and looked down at his scarred torso. He ran his fingers over a few smaller ones on his ribcage and above the crook in his arm, a smirk turning the corner of his lips, "Most of them I got from battles with my friend when I was younger. We'd sneak out at night and fight with real katanas instead of the wooden ones we were required to practice with."

Chopper looked at the small, aged scars and tried to imagine Zoro as a child – but Chopper couldn't manage the image. The closest he came was imagining Zoro's face on a child's body, which almost sent him into giggles.

"What about the big one on your chest? Luffy said you got it in a fight, but didn't say much else," Chopper asked to distract himself from the strange mental picture of a child-bodied Zoro.

Zoro's face became serious once again as he placed his fist over his heart. "It happened before we got to the Grand Line. Just before Luffy defeated Arlong," Zoro explained.

Chopper remembered Arlong's name as the Fishman who had blackmailed Nami into drawing maps for him. He remembered Usopp telling the story – though with Usopp it was hard to tell what was true and what was embellishment.

"We came across the Shichibukai, Dracule Mihawk…the greatest swordsman in the world," Zoro continued. Chopper's eyes widened as he listened with captivated ears.

"My dream is to take his place as the greatest swordsman, so I fought him. I gave it all I had, but he defeated me with a single dagger. Even though I knew I was defeated, I faced him for his final strike. With his black blade he sliced my chest – but told me I would live. He said he would look forward to fighting me once I got stronger…the scar is a reminder that I am not strong enough yet."

Chopper's wide eyes looked at him with awe. A single dagger had been able to beat Zoro – the strongest man that Chopper had ever met. It was almost unbelievable – but then, the Shichibukai Crocodile had been strong, so maybe Mihawk was even stronger.

Zoro looked up from his chest with that look that he got when facing a particularly skilled enemy and he smirked, "So I wear the scar proudly as a promise to Mihawk that one day I'll pay it back to him. I will beat him, and become the world's greatest swordsman!"


	4. Zoro and the Three Earrings

**Disclaimer: I own One Piece!...okay, yeah i'm kidding. I have no ownership of the characters, i just love them all to death xD**

**I came up with this because i was wondering why in the world our manly Zoro would wear three earrings, and this was what i came up with. Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Zoro and His Earrings:<strong>

It was a fairly calm afternoon on the Going Merry, with the wind so nonexistent at the moment that the ship was barely moving. With the Grand Line being so unpredictable, they took the break happily and spent it in their own ways, knowing full well that in the blink of an eye things could change.

The three cohorts – Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper – were sneaking around the ship spying on their crewmates.

After multiple hits to the head by Nami accompanied by a few kicks from Sanji, they resorted to spying on the swordsman. They crept along until they found him.

But the swordsman was sleeping, propped against the mast while his katanas were clutched loosely in his arms.

The trio sighed and gave up. "It's not fun when no one's doing anything," Luffy pouted.

"Well, what did we expect from Zoro? All he does is sleep and train…he's pretty boring." Usopp sighed and stuck his feet through the railing that kept them from falling off the middle deck onto the main deck. He rested his chin on top of the railing and sighed again.

Luffy and Chopper followed his example and sighed as well.

They sat in bored silence, watching the main deck. The only thing moving was Zoro's slightly snoring figure. As Zoro shifted in his sleep, his three earrings clinked against each other, and Usopp finally thought of something to talk about.

"Hey, have you ever wondered why Zoro has those three earrings?" He asked his bored cohorts.

Luffy cocked his head to the side, "Because he's a pirate?"

Usopp and Chopper ignored their Captain's reasoning. Chopper pondered it and finally spoke, "I bet it means something important."

"Yeah," Usopp agreed, "Knowing Zoro, there's probably some deep philosophical story behind it."

"I wonder what it is…"Chopper thought out loud.

"Maybe it's for his three swords," Luffy added.

Though glad that their captain was able to make the simple connection between the three swords and three earrings, they shot him down. "No – It's probably more complicated than that," Usopp scratched his head.

An idea came to Chopper with a small gasp, "What if it stands for the people he's lost? Like friends who have died…"

Usopp pursed his lips, "That could be it…but he's only ever mentioned one person – Kuina I think it was – that died."

"Maybe he just hasn't told us…" Chopper whispered sadly, "It might be too painful."

"That's a definite possibility. If it doesn't stand for people though, maybe for three things he wants to remember – like lessons he's learned or something," Usopp wondered.

Finally Zoro – who had been woken up for more than half of their conversation – gave them their answer. "You're all wrong," he smirked. He stood up, much to the surprise of his curious onlookers, "they don't mean anything – they're just earrings."

"Wa – so why'd you get them?" Usopp spoke slightly irritated that none of their interesting ideas were true.

Zoro shrugged, "Seemed cool at the time."


	5. Zoro on the Nightshift

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. If I did, I would probably be rich and famous - which I am not, and probably never will be.**

**I'm sure this scene has been done before - in fact i think i read something close to this once - but it's a fairly common idea. I had fun writing it none the less, and hope you have fun reading it. **

**(Zoro/Robin pairing - like I said earlier, I'll switch back and forth between Robin and Nami because I really can't decide who I like Zoro best with xD)**

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><p><strong>Zoro and the Nightshift:<strong>

Gray clouds blanketed the sky, sending small snowflakes to drift gracefully onto the surfaces of the battered Going Merry. Zoro was keeping watch from the vantage point of the crows-nest, the only person awake on the dark and cold night…or so he thought.

The lids of Robin's eyes grew heavy as she attempted to stay awake and focused on her book. It was one she had read before, so she knew the outcome, but wanted to finish it anyways. If she kept reading that meant she could stay up longer, and put off sleep just a little more. She always dreaded sleeping, thus her addiction to coffee and books.

Those two things kept the nightmares away.

Finally she set down her book and noticed that it had started to snow lightly. The white flakes gathered on the small sill of the window that overlooked the main deck. Per usual, the young swordsman would be up in the crows-nest keeping watch…or at least pretending to keep watch as he snored into the silent night.

Absent mindedly she picked up a blanket from the bench by the table and blew out her candle. She stepped out into the cold night. She leaned against the railing of the middle deck and called out lightly, "Mr. Swordsman?"

He didn't respond at first, so she figured he was sleeping – but then his head of green hair looked over the ledge of the crows-net with a responding grunt.

She held up the blanket, "Would you like a blanket?"

"Sure," he said shortly, before disappearing from sight once again.

Robin thought about just using her Devil Fruit power to lift the blanket up there with her many hands, but knew that she was too tired to waste that much energy. She hung the blanket over her shoulder, and carefully climbed up to the crows-nest.

Zoro was slightly surprised to see her climbing over the top of the nest, having figured that she'd use her power to throw him the blanket instead. But there she was, stepping into the crows-nest, somehow even managing to make it look graceful. She handed him the blanket, which he spread over his lap.

Robin looked down to the deck, knowing that once she went back down there was nothing to do but go to sleep. She looked back down to Zoro, "Would you mind a little company?"

Zoro looked at her with narrowed analytical eyes but answered, "Sure."

She sat down beside him. She was a few inches away, but could feel the heat of his tanned skin radiating off of him as if he were a furnace. Robin stared up at the sky and noticed that the snow was no longer falling – leaving just a cold chill in the air.

Robin stifled a yawn and felt her eyelids get heavier. She was so tired, but refused to give into the sleep.

"You know," Zoro started, "Nighttime is usually meant for sleep."

Robin tried to shrug nonchalantly.

Zoro sucked in a short breath and asked flatly, "Nightmares, huh?"

His question startled her into a rigid position. How did he know about her nightmares? Did he guess? The only person who had noticed her nightmares was Nami – but that's because they slept in the same room. But Nami wouldn't tell anyone, would she?

Zoro shrugged at her silence, seeing the thoughts visibly on her passive face. "Relax – it's not like I'm asking you to tell them to me. It's just easy for me to tell."

"How?" she asked quickly. She was starting to regret coming up here…

He shrugged again, "You barely sleep – go to bed super late, wake up very early."

Robin took a breath to calm and compose herself. It wasn't a big deal, anyways. So the swordsman had noticed she didn't sleep much – nightmares were a normal guess to the cause. Despite his lack of directions, Zoro was uncannily perceptive. She sighed and with her emotionless jazzy voice confessed, "You're right. I do have nightmares…I'm just not ready to share them yet…I don't want this all to end."

He sent her a questioning look, his usual scowl dropped from his lips.

She knew he was pondering her last few words, but so was she. They sort of just slipped out – she must have been more tired than she thought…but they were true, no matter how unintentional. She didn't want her time with these people to end. Luffy, Nami, Sanji, Usopp, Chopper, and even Zoro – she was having her first taste of happiness in a lifetime of lonely pain. She felt so close to them. They were the first people to truly give her a place to belong, no matter how much she didn't believe she deserved it.

She wanted to share her past with them, but fear stopped her…what if they were like all the others? What if they decided she was too dangerous? What if they betrayed her? Or worse, what if she betrayed them like she had done to so many others?

Despite her will to stay awake, her mind could no longer take the consciousness. Mid-thought, she fell asleep, still leaning against the stiff walls of the crows-nest.

Robin waited for the nightmares to come, and hoped she wouldn't toss too much in the crows-nest to disturb the young swordsman.

But Robin's sleep passed in comfortable darkness, and when she woke the first thing she heard was deep calming breaths that weren't her own. She didn't yet open her eyes, fearing that as soon as she gave up that comfortable darkness she would be plunged into a nightmare and discover the second set of breaths was a shadow from her past trying to attack her.

She listened closer and found she could hear a strong heartbeat pounding within whatever she had her head rested on. Could that heartbeat be part of the awaiting nightmare as well?

Slow deep breaths and a warm heartbeat.

Finally her mind remembered where she fell asleep. Robin remembered where she was and realized she must be leaning against Zoro. But as she became more aware of herself she found an unfamiliar yet oddly comforting weight around her shoulders and a callused hand loosely grasping her arm, the thumb of which was absently stroking her cold skin. Her checks felt hot as she realized how close she and the swordsman were.

Robin kept her eyes shut, not knowing what to do. She had just spent the night in the arms of a man who she knew for a fact didn't trust her completely. She felt embarrassed that this had happened and regretted coming up to bring him a blanket.

But for some reason, the nightmares hadn't come. That was the first night in a long time that the dreams didn't force her awake with a cold sweat on her brow. She had slept peacefully for the first time in probably years…and she couldn't help but think it was because she had slept in someone else's arms.

She realized how comfortable and safe she felt with his strong arm around her, and blushed even more at the realization.

Finally she blinked her eyes open.

Zoro was staring off towards the gray morning horizon. When she stirred in his arms and lifted her head from his chest he looked towards her. His gray eyes met her blue ones.

She noticed his face was slightly expressionless, but his eyes were filled with something she didn't have the time to figure out. He must have noticed the blush on her cheeks because his lips formed a small smile for her. Robin realized that this was probably the first smile of his that she'd seen that wasn't smirky.

"Morning," he greeted.

"Sorry," she said quickly, "I didn't mean to fall asleep."

He shrugged, letting his face fall back into his normal stoic mask, "Not a problem."

Robin sat up and looked at his arm questioningly, which he still had around her shoulders. "You were shivering, even with the blanket. I didn't want to wake you, so…" he let his sentence drop, figuring that she understood.

When he went to pull his arm away, she had to fight the crazy urge to pull it back down around her shoulders. _What was that?_ She asked herself.

He asked her something, but was still too shocked at herself to completely hear what it was. "What?" she asked him lightly.

"I asked if you had any nightmares," he repeated, his analytical gray eyes watching for her answer.

She shook her head and looked down at her hands, "No. I didn't." She cursed herself for not being able to meet his eyes – why was she acting so childish? She was completely too old to be acting like this – she was 28 compared to his 19. She shouldn't be blushing like an immature teenager.

She saw his hand rise from his side. It hesitated for a split second before touching beneath her chin and lightly forcing her face to look at him. His eyes were curious, first looking at his hand beneath her chin and then to her eyes. "That's a good thing," he stated.

Robin swallowed, "Yes…it is." Her eyes kept trying to look away, but she found his eyes so captivating.

Her instincts were telling her to lean forward, to touch her lips to his, but her mind wrenched herself away. Robin quickly tore her head out of his grip and forced herself to her feet. Zoro just watched her, his eyes looking slightly confused about what he had just been doing.

"I-I'm going to get some coffee." Robin stammered before climbing quickly out of the crows-nest.

What was happening to her? She had never had such…intimate thoughts about the young swordsman before, so why now? What changed? And why couldn't her heart stop pounding against her chest?

Once she touched the ground, she fought the crazy urge to look up, afraid that he would be watching her. She didn't know what that was back there, but she was afraid of it. Not because it was weird and awkward, but because she liked it.


	6. Zoro and the Little Thief

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, no matter how much I wish I did.**

**A/N: Bah. I liked the idea of this one because it showed a soft-spot for kids in our favorite swordsman's heart, but I'm not entirely liking the way this came out. I posted it anyways so tell me what you think - feel free to dislike this one lol and look forward to the next chapter - more fluffy ZoroRobin-ness haha**

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><p><strong>Zoro and the Little Thief: <strong>

"What the hell have you gotten me into?" Zoro muttered to the grungy pink-haired girl beside him. Two of his three katanas pointed towards the approaching enemy.

"Don't blame me! Blame yourself for letting me steal your money!" The pink-haired girl spat back at him. She muttered something impolite about pirates under her breath.

"I should have stayed on the ship," Zoro sighed before rushing into the crowd.

A few hours earlier:

"Hey, Baka! Where do you think you're going?" Sanji shouted from the prow deck of the ship. He blew out smoke rings as he eyed the swordsman suspiciously.

"What does it _look_ like I'm doing, Dartboard-Brow? I'm going to the town," Zoro glared back. He rolled his eyes and walked away from the ship, his katanas shifting with soft clangs after every step he took.

Nami pulled up beside Sanji and shouted over the railings, "Get back here! We're leaving in an hour, and you'll get lost on your own!" She cursed under her breath.

Zoro spun around and sent the navigator a glare, "Oi! I don't get lost! And look – the town is on that hill, so all I have to do to get back here is go down. I'll be back in an hour." With that, he sent them a nonchalant wave and headed off towards town.

He could hear Nami sigh and Sanji mutter an insult between drags of his cigarette, but Zoro just smirked. As he walked away, down a rocky road that led directly up into the town, Zoro hoped the town had a sword-smith, or weaponry of some kind. He needed a new service kit for his katanas. His last one fell overboard during that last flash-storm.

Damned Grand Line and its deranged weather; One minute, it was sunny and calm, and the next he had to drop what he was doing and rush to pull up the sails. A large wave swept onto the deck, and washed his kit out to shore. Chopper had tried to put together a substitute for him, but he needed the real oils and waxes. His katanas got a lot of use, so they needed extra treatment than normal swords.

The sun was warm on his skin, drawing out beads of sweat as he walked up the hill. He ignored the slight discomfort the heat brought, and let the sunshine soak into his body. They had just come from a winter island, and he would rather be sweaty from heat than frozen in snow.

The island was called Clipson, and even from the road Zoro could tell that it got a lot of pirate visitors – and not the pleasant kind. The town was run-down, and in some parts, even in smokey ruins. As he found his way to a main road that cut through the middle of town, he noticed the beaten and hopeless look of the people.

In all of their eyes he saw sorrow.

A small section of town was set apart for stores and shops, and small clusters of people were gathered here and there around the entrances. Zoro scanned the streets and found the store that possibly had what he needed.

* * *

><p>He walked out of the sword-shop with a small paper bag. They hadn't had much, but it would be enough to hold him over until they reached a more populated island. A small jar of wax for the scabbards and hilts, a vial of oil for the blades themselves, and two folded pieces of gentle cloth that were made specifically for blade care were tucked away neatly inside the small bag. The oil and wax were pretty common, but he had been surprised a place like this had any of the cloth in store.<p>

Zoro tucked away the left-over berries in the pocket of his black pants and strolled down the street.

He would rather not go back with any change, because then Nami would bring up his debt and he'd end up giving it all to her. He looked in the windows of the other shops, hoping to find something that wasn't completely useless to buy.

While eying a red leather armband that hung in the window of an odd's and end's shop, a girl bumped into him.

A stringy mess of pink hair spilled into her face as she looked up at Zoro's towering figure. Her cheeks reddened and she backed away politely, "Sorry Nii-chan! I wasn't looking where I was going." The pink-haired girl gave a small bow.

Zoro shrugged, "Don't worry ab-," but before he could finish, the girl was already running away down the street, darting through the small groups of people with learned grace.

Zoro's brows creased, but he went back to looking at the armband. It seemed like something Luffy would like – and it _was_ getting close to Christmas. It was at least an excuse to spend the left over money.

He stepped into the shop and pulled the armband down from the window display. Zoro held it up to the shop keeper, "Can I buy this?"

The Shopkeeper nodded, "You have money?"

Zoro reached for his pocket, but his hand came out empty. He looked in his other pocket, but realized his money was gone. He sighed and ran his fingers through his green hair. "That little thief," he muttered in exasperation. In his mind he saw that young girl running away – she must have bumped into him on purpose after seeing him stash his money in his pocket.

"Thief?" the Shopkeeper asked.

Zoro nodded, "Kid ran into me before I came in here. No big deal I guess…I didn't have much on me."

"Was it a girl with pink hair?"

Zoro looked to the Shopkeeper and nodded, "Yeah – you know her?"

"She's been a growing nuisance these past couple of weeks. Can't keep money in your pockets, these days – not with her around." The Shopkeeper sighed and looked to the armband in Zoro's hand, "You might as well take that thing. It's a piece of junk, anyhow."

Zoro looked down to the leather armband and shrugged. Luffy wouldn't care.

"Thanks," He dropped the armband in his brown paper bag and left the store.

Zoro looked to the sky, and saw the sun relatively unchanged. He had probably spent thirty to forty minutes there in town, and decided that he should start heading back. Nami would be expecting him to be late, and he wanted to prove her wrong.

He let out a huffy breath and muttered, "I don't get lost."

The ship was down at the docks, so all he had to do was head downward. He walked aimlessly down different roads, looking for one that would take him down the hill, but somehow ended up deeper within the town.

Buildings that were reduced to rubble were more common in this area, and there seemed to be no one around. Roads were littered with bricks and wooden planks, gleaming with the odd rusted nail and shattered glass shard. Scorch marks were everywhere. It was evident that pirates of an unfriendly nature had rampaged sometime recently on the island, damaging this part of the town in particular.

Zoro stopped in his tracks.

He thought he had heard something.

A cough maybe, or a groan.

Zoro placed a hand on Wado Ichimonji's hilt and listened cautiously.

Another cough, weak and young sounding, came from a ruined house that was only half standing. The other half was piles of charred debris and useless rubble. Zoro stepped towards the sound, relaxing a little, but keeping his hand on his katana's grip.

He heard movement, and another voice "Shushing" the cougher.

"Go away!" a girls voice echoed. Zoro couldn't exactly pinpoint her position, but knew that she was hiding in the rubble of the half-demolished house. "It was your own fault that your money got stolen!"

Zoro smirked and released his grip on Wado Ichimonji, now that he knew who was hiding. "Huh – I had no idea that my pockets were so unsafe."

"Your boots are a much better place. It's hard to steal from."

Zoro let out a small laugh, "I'll keep that in mind."

The girl was silent for a moment before repeating, "Go away! I won't give you that money back. It's mine now."

Zoro shrugged, sure that the girl was watching him from a peek hole somewhere in her hiding spot. "That's okay. I don't need it."

"Wa – really?" the girl's voice asked, slightly surprised.

Zoro nodded and held up his small bag, "I had already bought everything I needed."

"So…" The girl started, "You didn't come to get your money?"

"Nope – just looking for my ship." Zoro looked at his surroundings, and noticed a hill in the distance ahead of him. _So if I'm facing up, then turning around should take me down_, he thought to himself, eyeing the grassy hill in the distance.

He was about to turn around, when he heard voices coming closer. The owners of the voices turned down the street that Zoro was standing in the middle of.

"She must be around here somewhere," a tall and scrawny man leading the trio of men stated, "This is the only place that would work for a hide out."

"That street-trash stole from me twice this week! I'm gonna make her pay…" the second man threatened. He was short and younger than the other two, but well muscled for his short stature.

"I don't care what you do, as long as I get that money back – I'm a dead man if I don't pay Maritaku by tomorrow," the third man worried. He wrung his hands together in fear of the man Maritaku, whom he probably owed a large sum of money.

Finally the leader spotted Zoro. "Hey you!" he called out, stopping at the mouth of the alley. His followers stopped on either side of him, eyeing Zoro with scrutiny.

Zoro ignored them and continued walking towards the ally exit, which they were blocking. "Damn," he muttered, "I'm going to be late."

"Stop right there! We're talking to you!" the short and strong subordinate shouted. He crossed his arms across his chest and tried to pull off a threatening glare.

But Zoro just ignored him, not even bothering to send back an actual threatening glare. Those punks weren't worth the effort. "You're in my way," He stated blandly.

The nervous guy wrung his hands tighter, after noticing Zoro's three swords. "Uh, have you seen a little girl anywhere around here?"

"So what if I have?" he replied nonchalantly.

The leader stepped forward, "We're just looking to have a little chat with her, that's all. So have you seen her?"

Zoro pondered for a moment, knowing that the girl was still hiding somewhere in the rubble nearby, watching the scene play out before her. "Pink hair – kinda messy?"

The leader's eyes lit up, "Yeah, that's her!"

"Nope. Never seen her." Zoro pushed through the group, inwardly laughing at their shocked reactions.

But the leader made a mistake.

He turned after Zoro and grabbed his arm, "Now wait – "

Zoro spun around again and in a split second had the cursed blade of Sandai Kitetsu pressing lightly on the leader's wrist. Flames danced in Zoro's eyes as he spoke pointedly, "You'll want to remove your hand now – or my blade will do it for you."

The leader swallowed hard and quickly removed his hand. He backed away and took off running down the alley. With scared looks, his subordinates followed suit, and chased after their leader.

Zoro waited until their footsteps no longer echoed through the empty and rubble-littered street before turning to leave.

"Wait…" The girl spoke cautiously and curiously.

Zoro stopped walking and looked over his shoulder, "Eh?"

"Thank-you…for not telling them where I was," She whispered quietly, her head bowed in gratitude.

"It's not my place to turn in thieves – I'm a pirate after all."

Her head shot up straight and her eyes widened with fear and anger. Her fists clenched and shook by her sides. "A pirate?" she asked solemnly.

Zoro looked around at the scorched remains of the nearby buildings and spoke, "I'm guessing you have no love for pirates here."

Her lips tightened to a thin line.

Before she could exhaust her anger towards pirates on Zoro, however, a weak cough came from somewhere within the half-standing part of the building.

The girl's anger quickly subsided and she darted off into the mess of rubble and building. He heard her bare feet slapping against stone, and then stop somewhere close by. Her voice spoke in murmurs as another cough rang out.

Zoro thought about leaving the little thief to her own problems, but decided against it. His instincts told him to follow after her.

With careful steps through the rubble, Zoro found a small pathway clear of broken glass and nails that would be otherwise undetectable for someone with untrained eye sight. He followed the small path, which wound around the half-standing building to another that was less damaged right behind it. A curtain that rippled from recent passage hung in the empty doorway, while the windows were boarded up. It looked in bad condition, but Zoro could see small signs of inhabitance: a well-worn pathway just in front of the door, a shirt lying on a board in the sun to dry.

The girl spoke from inside the house, now aware of Zoro's presence, "You need to leave me alone! I thank you for not giving me away, but I want you to go."

Zoro ignored her, "Who's sick in there."

She tried to deny that anyone was with her, but a cough interrupted her stammering. Zoro pushed back the curtain in the doorway and found the girl kneeling beside a mess made up of blankets and old cloths. Inside that nest was a boy of maybe six. He also had a mess of pink hair on his head, but looked oddly pale. His lips were cracked and dry, while his face looked damp with cold sweat.

"Just leave us alone," the girl said, sounding defeated.

Zoro walked to the boy and laid a hand on his forehead. As he suspected, a cold sweat was covering a high fever.

"I've been stealing money so that I could save up for some medicine…But by the time I get enough, it might be too late," the pink haired girl confessed with tears pooling in her eyes.

Without a sound, Zoro stuffed his paper bag of bought goods into his green sash, snaked his arms beneath the boy's light body, and picked him up. He leaned the boy's sick figure against one shoulder and started walking away.

"HEY!" the girl shouted, grabbing a hold of Zoro's free arm to try to pull him back, "Put him down! Where are you taking him?" She was frantic, putting all of her strength into stopping Zoro from leaving with the boy.

Her strength was no match for Zoro's. He lifted up his arm with her still attached and looked her in the eyes. He tried not to scare her, but she still looked frightened. "He's sick. I know a doctor. Now, will you let go and show me to the harbor?"

The pink haired girl dropped from his arm, but kept his gaze. She seemed to think it over then crossed her arms over her skinny chest, "Fine. Just be careful with him."

Zoro nodded and followed her small figure as it tore quickly down a small indiscernible path. It wasn't the same one Zoro had followed to get there, so he figured she had little trails all over the ruined area of town. She'd made lots of escape routes to easily lose herself in – perfect for hiding from people who were chasing you.

The boy moaned against his shoulder, but didn't seem to wake up. Whatever was ailing him had taken him to far away to notice much.

The girl walked ahead, leading the way. She sent suspicious glances back at Zoro every couple of minutes, but never said a word. Zoro didn't mind the silence. He left her to her thoughts without interrupting.

Finally they emerged from the hidden trail onto a main street that headed downward. In the far distance he could see the Going Merry waiting patiently in the natural harbor they had anchored in. But before she could lead Zoro any further, a small group of people were gathered in the middle of the road that led down to the small harbor and the Going Merry.

"I swear, Maritaku, I had your money, but that brat, Kesta stole it all!" the nervous guy from the alley spoke to a huge, bulky man who looked to be a gang leader of some kind. Maybe even a pirate.

"Yeah," said the small but tough guy, also from earlier, "And when we tried to find her, this green-haired punk threatened us."

Zoro smirked and couldn't help himself from interrupting. "Did you mean me?" he spoke clearly from the entry way to the street. The gathering of about ten people all looked over to him and the three men from the ally recognized him immediately. All three of their faces looked fearful, remembering the eerie fire that arose in his eyes.

The hulking gang leader, supposedly Maritaku, looked lazily at Zoro and the girl, Kesta. "Is that him? If he threatened you, why the hell didn't you beat him up?" he asked the trio angrily.

The flinched at their bosses anger and stammered excuses, each equally pathetic. The leader thought so to, and rolled his eyes. "Well you can make up for your mistake. Kill him and force the girl to show you where the money is."

"What about the boy?" one of his men asked.

The leader shrugged, "I don't care. Kill him if he's in the way – he looks half-dead anyways."

Both the girl and Zoro scowled at those words. Zoro turned for a moment and laid the small boy down on the ground near the entrance to the alley they just came from. "Stay here with him," Zoro told Kesta.

She eyed him suspiciously as he pulled out two of his katanas and pointed them at the approaching nine henchmen of Maritaku. "What the hell have you gotten me into," he muttered to himself.

Kesta scowled at him, "Don't blame me! It's not my fault you let me steal your money!" she swore impolitely about pirates and knelt down by her brother.

"I should have stayed on the ship," Zoro said before disappearing in a whirl of steel and flesh. Not feeling the need to kill these pathetic gangsters, he used the backs of his blades to knock them to the ground.

It only took fifteen seconds for Zoro to take out all nine of the henchmen and send them flying to the ground with almost lethal force, despite Zoro using the backs of his blades to prevent any deaths.

The leader Maritaku watched with wide eyes and then dissolved into laugher. Zoro could feel the eyes of Kesta watching him with suspicion.

"That was quick –I can see why they ran from you."

"Do I have to fight you as well, or can we be on our way?" Zoro asked bluntly. He just wanted to get two kids back to the ship. Maybe showing up with them would make Nami's lecture less severe, he wondered vaguely.

Maritaku laughed and pulled out an overly large battle axe that had probably been just for show until now. Zoro wasted no time in attacking, hoping to get this over with quickly.

In mere seconds Zoro was at Maritaku's side, where he sliced the wooden handle of the battle axe just a centimeter above the man's meaty hands. The axe head fell and landed on the man's foot, causing the gang leader to cry out in pain and drop to his knee.

Zoro ignored the massive man's screams and sheathed his two swords. He turned and walked calmly to the Kesta and her brother. She just watched him as he scooped up her brother and started walking towards the ship.

Kesta quickly snapped out of her daze and chased after him.

* * *

><p>"Oi! Where the hell have you been? I said one hour, not three!"<p>

Zoro looked up at the sky, now realizing that he had been wandering around for longer than he first thought: the sun was starting to set in the sky. He ignored Nami's remark and nodded towards the boy in his arms, "I've got a patient for Chopper."

Nami looked him over and sighed, "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything!"

She rolled her eyes, "Suuuure. Well, hurry aboard and I'll tell Chopper."

Zoro scowled at her and grabbed the pink-haired girls arm. He swung her aboard and hopped on after her.

The voices of his crew were easily heard coming from the kitchen, where Chopper would set up the bed for his patient. "SANNNJIII! MEEEEEAT!" Luffy shouted.

A loud thump and a groan soon followed, marking Sanji's reply with a kick to Luffy's head.

"Yeah, hurry up, Sanji!" Usopp complained.

Zoro swung the door open, earning him glances from his crew. Sanji was wielding a spatula, Luffy was lying on the ground with a bump on his head, Usopp was sitting at the table while tinkering with some new creation, Robin was reading a book in the corner, and Chopper was prepped and ready at the makeshift bed. Zoro brought the boy over and set him carefully down.

"So what's wrong with him?" Chopper asked in his childlike voice, much to Kesta's surprise.

Her mouth opened in a comical "O" and she stammered, "Th-th-that raccoon just talked…"

"I'm a reindeer!" Chopper shouted in frustration. But he paid Kesta no mind and looked back down at his patient.

Zoro looked to the girl, "What's he sick with? Do you know?"

"Uh…the-I don't know…but he's been feverish, and he won't eat anything. When he's awake he complains that his chest hurts and that eating is painful." She answered, looking around the crew.

Luffy popped up from the ground with a smile on his face, "Don't worry – Chopper's the best doctor in the world!"

Chopper giggled and his cheeks reddened beneath his fur, "Compliments won't make me happy, you jerk! Stop it!"

"Back to the boy, Chopper," Sanji called from his place in front of the stove.

"Oh, yeah." Chopper turned to the boy and pulled a stethoscope out of his blue backpack. He listened to the boy's heartbeat. A frown became visible in Chopper's eyes, as he moved the stethoscope down to his practically caved-in stomach. He put the tool away and felt the boy's skinny wrist for a pulse.

Kesta obviously saw Chopper's unease and quickly dropped the strange fact that a reindeer could talk, "So what's wrong with him? Can you fix it?" Tears once again gleamed in her eyes but didn't fall.

Chopper looked to the girl, "He needs surgery. I think he has a parasite."

"Parasite?"

Chopper nodded. He turned to Robin, who had put her book down to watch the scene before her, "Could you give me a hand?"

"Of course, Doctor-san," she replied calmly as she stood up.

"Okay!" Nami commanded, "Everyone but Chopper, Robin and Sanji out! They need some space, and Sanji will come out when the food's done."

Sanji nodded and went back to work, while Luffy and Usopp groaned and followed Nami out. Luffy grumbled, "Aww, a parasite sounds exciting."

"You too," Zoro said as he ushered Kesta out of the room.

She struggled and tried to slip through Zoro's arms, "No – I need to be with him! If Hannie wakes up without me..."

Zoro picked her up around the waist and carted her out of the room on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, "Come on – the doctor needs some room."

She kicked and flailed her arms around, hitting his chest and back, "Lemme go, stupid Pirate! Let me see my brother!"

"You can't help him," Zoro said as he dropped her into a lawn chair set up on the main deck, "But Chopper can. Don't be stubborn."

She gave him her best scowl, and hugged her knees to her chest. She stared down Zoro, who kept her gaze and sent it back to her. Still keeping eye-contact, Zoro pulled his katanas from his green sash and propped them against the mast. He sat cross-legged and continued the staring match with the girl.

The rest of the crew left them alone, except for Nami who knelt down beside the girl. "So what's your name?" she asked sweetly, trying to get the girl to loosen up.

The girl's stare transferred to Nami for a second, losing none of its fierceness, "Are you a pirate as well?"

Nami cocked an eyebrow, "I am – we all are."

"Hmph," The girl's stare reverted back to Zoro, "They've even got an evil girl pirate."

"Hey – that's-!" Nami started.

"Nami," Zoro interrupted, "Leave her be."

Nami sucked in a breath and exhaled slowly, "Fine." She stalked back to the stairs and retreated to her mikan trees.

Zoro and Kesta continued their staring match, even when Sanji brought out dinner. The love-cook set down a small plate in front of the girl but sent a glare at Zoro, "I'm not catering to you too, marimo." Sanji sucked in a breath from his cigarette and blew out smoke.

Zoro didn't reply, so Sanji left shaking his head and muttering some insult.

Finally, after an hour or so after Luffy's grunts and other sounds of eating had finished, Chopper came out of the kitchen, wiping one hoof across is furry brown brow. "I was right. He had a parasite attached to his internal organs. I removed it, so he should be fine after a week or so of recovery."

Kesta stood up from her seat on the lawn chair and flocked to Chopper, "Are you sure he's alright? Can I see him?"

Chopped nodded, "He won't wake for another couple of hours or so, but you can go see him. Just be careful with his stitches."

Kesta ran into the room and Chopper clopped over to Zoro, who had finally stood from his seat at the base of the mast. "It's a good thing you found him, Zoro – he probably would have died in a day or so without treatment."

"His sister's stubborn – I had to basically kidnap him to get him here."

Nami sighed, "You're just horrible with children."

"I'd say he's just horrible with people in general," Sanji muttered.

Zoro scowled at the two of them and grabbed a piece of meat from Luffy's hands.

"Bahh! Zoro, that was my meat!" he complained.

"So what was up with that whole staring thing anyways? It was kinda creepy," Usopp commented.

Zoro shrugged, "She was stubborn and would have snuck into see her brother if I hadn't been watching her. If she would have barged in there at the wrong time, she could have distracted Chopper and accidentally hurt the kid more." He bit into the stolen meat and walked off.

Usopp shook his head, "It's creepy how he knows stuff like that about people."

"You'd think with such good perceptions, he'd be better with directions," Nami complained.

Luffy sighed, "He stole my meat."


	7. Zoro and a Kiss

**Disclaimer: As stated previously, I don't own One Piece or any of these zany characters.**

**Yay, more Robin and Zoro fluffiness. I'm just in that set of mind recently, so there will be a few more of these on the way haha **

**Here you go!**

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><p><strong>Zoro and a Kiss:<strong>

He watched her from his place on the main deck, leaning against the mast. He had just woken up from a nap and had caught her looking this way again.

She was now trying to focus on reading her book, her obsidian black hair pestering her eyes and tickling her shoulders. He forced himself to look away; otherwise, he'd probably just keep staring.

Zoro cursed himself – he was becoming a stalker like that love-cook. But ever since that night in the mast, his arm around her shivering figure, fragile as she slept against his chest, he couldn't get that particular moment out of his mind.

His fingertips beneath her chin, staring into her eyes for that split second and seeing the same crazy urge in his gut reflected in her deep blue eyes.

In that moment he wanted nothing more than to lean in and kiss her…but what he couldn't understand was why?

Obviously she was beautiful – that much was clear from the start – but where had his mistrust in her gone? Before she came up to that crows-nest, he would have swore on his life that he still didn't trust her, but once she left he wanted to pull her back and keep her beside him for a while longer. How had things changed so quickly?

Zoro could feel her deep blue eyes peeking at him over the pages of her book, and decided he'd pretend to take another nap. It would at least force him to keep his eyes closed and think about what he was feeling, rather than letting his simple nature take over and just walk over to her and plant the kiss that should have happened the other night on her lips.

He tried to clear his mind, hoping that what he had felt up in the crows-nest was just a spur-of-the-moment type of thing, but knew that whatever he was feeling was deeper than that. None of this made any sense to him. How could he change his mind about her so quickly? When had this change started to happen?

A memory stirred in his head. Skypia. Seeing her used as a human lightning rod by that bastard Enel had made him furious. He had told her that he defended her because Luffy had deemed her part of the crew – but he was starting to realize now that maybe the ferocity that caused him to attack for revenge had been something other than Luffy's trust in the woman.

Maybe that was when things had started changing…at least for him anyways.

Zoro knew that she was probably just as confused about it as he was, remembering the look on her face as she tore out of his light grasp and hurried from the crows-nest. Robin had looked afraid.

Zoro knew the look of fear quite well, but this had been slightly different from what he was used to. She wasn't afraid of him, but afraid of herself, as if she was afraid of what she was feeling or wanted to do.

He had too much energy to feign sleep, so he stood up and with a quick glance towards Robin, who was now dealing politely with the swooning euro-cook as he gave her a cup of coffee, took off for the other side of the ship. He promised himself that he'd talk to her tonight and deal with this, one way or another.

* * *

><p>Zoro skipped lunch, claiming that he was too busy training. Really he just wanted time to keep planning out what he was going to say – but that never actually happened. He had never been one for planning, especially his words. He usually came up with things as he went along, and hoped that tonight would be no different.<p>

Dinner was rowdy and filled with arguing over "who stole who's meat", but Zoro was unnaturally quite. He ate with concentration, often forcing himself to take part in random conversation to try to hide how unlike himself he was feeling. He was sure Robin noticed it, but when he looked up at her, and their eyes met, she gave him a soft and genuine smile before turning back to Nami who was in the middle of a conversation with her.

The smile gave Zoro a light feeling in his stomach, who no longer felt he could eat. He pretended to look away, giving Luffy an open chance to steal his remaining food. Zoro pretended to get mad, but didn't refill his plate. He took a long drink of sake for his nerves, and left the table when Chopper did, so as not to draw unnatural attention to himself.

He lifted his weights, waiting for everyone else to go to bed. It was his night for watch again, and he was pretty sure Robin knew that. He watched as one by one, his crewmates went down to the sleeping quarters below deck, or in Nami's case the women's shared room off of the main deck.

Finally the lights were all out, except for a flickering candlelight in the galley, where Robin sat reading a book – or at least trying to anyway.

Zoro hesitated in front of the door, watching her silhouette fidget nervously. He took a calming breath and pushed open the door.

She looked up at him, nervous but not surprised in the least. She set down a book that she really hadn't been reading, and just looked up at him. Her deep blue eyes met his gray ones, and whatever words he had tried to put together earlier went entirely out the window. His simple nature won out, finally taking control after waiting the whole day.

He walked over to where she sat and grabbed her soft white hand that had been resting on top of the old leather-bound book. By the hand he pulled her up; she willingly followed his lead, and got to her feet.

Zoro kept a hold of her hand, and latched his other onto the back of her neck. He pulled her close to that their faces were just inches away, their bodies much closer than that. He felt her warm breath and smelled her subtle scent of lavender.

Finally he could take the few inches space no longer and closed it. His lips landed on hers, and she gave into him with a smile. He started slowly at first, but couldn't keep it that way. He kissed her harder, with more passion, and felt a tingle as her free hand wound through his hair, tugging it playfully in her fingers.

The kiss grew more vicious and they pulled each other as close as they could get. She released his hand and grabbed him by the wrist instead, pulling his now free hand to her waist. His rough and callused hand edged beneath her shirt and slide in sensual circles on the small of her back.

She let out a small moan that escaped through their locked lips. He gently pushed her against the wall and moved both of his hands beneath her shirt to rest on her waist. He caressed her midsection with his thumbs, while her arms tangled themselves around his neck. They stayed locked onto each other for what could have been days. Neither of them letting up the passion that they had trapped in the nonexistent space between their bodies.

They finally broke apart, before things got too out of hand, but neither of them wanted to let go of the other. So they stood in the galley, Robin's arms around his neck and his hands on her waist.

The stared at each other silently, smiles playing on both of their lips. Neither knew exactly what to say, but there was no need for words. They both knew how wonderful and passionate that had felt, and had no regrets about doing it.

Robin rested her head on his shoulder and wrapped an arm around his stomach. "So what do we do now?"

Zoro thought about the answer, as he shifted his arm to rest on his shoulder. He played with the tips of her slightly mussed hair. He looked down to her, and locked his gray eyes onto hers. He gave her an actual grin – one that almost rivaled Luffy's – and said, "We'll have to see where fate takes us."

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><p>Bahaha! Sappy ending, I know - but i couldn't help myself. Anyways, I hope you liked it xD<p> 


	8. Zoro and the Debt: Part 1

**Hey guys! Sorry i haven't added any to this in a while - i've just not been in a Zoro mood lately lol But i got the idea for this last night and plan on spanning it out for a few chapters, hench why this is so short. Anywho, hope you enjoy!**

*Note* as stated earlier, i will jump back and forth between my pairings with Zoro just because i'm okay with either girl lol This little segment of chapters will me ZoroXNami for a change, so sorry ZoRo lovers, it's ZoNa time hehe

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><p><strong>Zoro and the Debt:<strong>

"What? But I gave back all the money I borrowed! I didn't spend any of it!" Zoro shouted at the Orange haired sea witch.

Nami only smirked and feigned innocence, "That may be true – but there was interest. So now you owe me more than what I gave you."

"But seriously – you've tripled the amount! How the heck am I supposed to pay you back 200,000 beli when I had to borrow 100,000 from you?" Zoro crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Nami, the navigator and self-proclaimed treasurer of the crew.

"That's your problem," Nami shrugged, "But you better pay it off quick before it rises again."

Zoro groaned and thought for a minute – there must be something he could do to make it up to her without paying her that ridiculous amount of money (which he didn't have and probably couldn't get unless he decided to turn himself in for his bounty).

The swordsman sighed, "What can I do to make this go away…withOUT paying the money."

Nami shook her head, "I don't know…if I let you out of paying your debt, everyone else will think they can do it too. How will I survive without all of your guys' money?"

"Come on, Nami – I'll do whatever you want. I don't have that kinda money."

The orange-haired girl tapped her chin in thought. As a thought came to her, her amber eyes lit up in a mischievous and unsettling way, "Alright then – you're going to be my personal slave, for two days. That should settle your debt."

Zoro sucked in a breath and held in his first response – which was to yell "Hell no – I'm not going to be your second Sanji". Grudgingly, Zoro let out a breath and replied, "Fine!". He would have to swallow his pride for the next two days. It was either that, or spend the rest of his life giving her all his money to pay off a growing debt.

Nami smiled wickedly, "This is going to be great!"

XVXVXVXVXVXVXVVXVX

Shopping…the first thing Nami decided to do was take the 100,000 beli that Zoro just gave back to her and spend it all on clothes, making Zoro her bag carrier and second opinion.

Nami usually brought Robin or Usopp with her when she tried out new clothes – Usopp was surprisingly talented in the ways of fashion despite his horrible love of brown overalls – but neither crewmate was available. So, she thought deviously, why not bring her temporary slave along for the shopping spree?

She could think of no better way to torture him than make him sit through hours of clothes shopping. The usual scowl on his face only deepened and intensified as the day progressed – proving to the navigator that she'd chosen her first task wisely.

The only problem though, was the fact that Zoro was completely good-looking – especially compared to the long-nosed sniper that she usually brought along. Despite her usual opinion of the swordsman – which included words such as stubborn, dim, dark, narcoleptic and blunt – he was roughly handsome, and what girl can try on clothes in front of a good-looking guy and NOT show off their womanly assets?

"What do you think of this top?" She asked as she twisted and turned in front of the body-length mirror, making sure her perfect figure was showing properly.

He looked uncomfortable with the question, as the top she was displaying was the last thing on his mind.

Nami smiled to herself . She usually didn't act like a tease – unless it was with Sanji, which she only did to get special treatment out of him – but she was having fun trying to temp the usually emotionless swordsman. Seeing the look on his face that said "I'm trying not to look, but I can't help it" made her realize that no matter how cold he could sometimes be, he was still a man.

More torturous thoughts popped into her mind as she disappeared into the changing room once again – she was going to have a lot of fun with Zoro these next few days, and her ultimate goal was to make him blush.

_Yes!_ She shouted in her mind, _If I can make him blush, it will prove that he's actually human, and not some sword-wielding demon._

Satisfied with herself, Nami changed back into her regular clothes, and left the changing room, plotting devious plans to prove Zoro's humanity.

She was going to make him blush if it was the last thing she did!

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><p><strong>Don't worry, this will be continued shortly lol Hope i don't have Nami OOC but i've never been great at writing her. Anywho, review and tell me what you think! xD Please and Thank-You!<strong>


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